Whatever !

Three Books

2011-01-22T20:57:00.000+05:30

Read a few books in the past weeks. Started with Tiger Hills, by Sarita Mandanna - This is a picturesque narration of Coorg and spanning across centuries,the book delves into the lives of Devi, Devanna and Machu. I liked the details and the beauty of description.

This was an exclusive and a spiritual journey to Kailash and Manasasarovar - Sitting in my armchair, I could see the snow capped mountains and the eyes of Buddha as love flows freely from them. The yatra undertook by Bimal Dey at an age of 16, the book gave me a feel that is inexplicable.

The Snake Charmer was a quick read with the story revolving around Sonalal, a charmer who gave a divine play on his "been" and Raju, his snake swayed to the tune,then the remorse after he killed his beloved snake, affectionately referred as his eldest son. Though I liked some aspects while cruising through the book, it felt mundane towards the end and didn't quite like the climax.

SantaClaus in Baghada

2010-12-12T12:57:00.001+05:30

This is an unbelievable compilation of short stories by Elsa Marston and it throws a different angle into the lives of teens in Arab World. The first look gave me the impression that life runs same whichever part of the world you are in; the daily struggles and small droplets of happiness makes it complete. Be it among the refugees of a camp or highly educated family reduced to eating from the floor owing to poverty, there are rays of hope and the glittering visions of future that goads them on.

The story in the same title from Iraq deals with a family and the kid hopes for his little red card from Santa Claus - the girl in the family gets a gift for their favorite teacher; I was thrilled reading this story. It might sound simple but there was truth and beauty in the narration. The story called “Honor” talks through honor killings in Jordan and “The Plan” is a wonderful storyline about brothers trying to ‘woo’ a teacher. There are other stories each with its unique way of capturing the hearts.

I liked the collection and would recommend…

Brief Encounters with the Che Guvara

2010-11-17T19:13:00.000+05:30

Collection of short stories by Ben Fountain, this is a good read and gives unique perspectives of lives across Latin America, Haiti and so on. The story Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera echoes laments of an aspiring PhD about the extinction of ecosystem of birds when he was captured by guerillas. The profit oriented capitalist system and its impact on to the environment is narrated in a satiric manner. A golfer and his life to teach the generals of Myanmar, the classic moves of golf forms the theme in Asian Tiger and even here, the exploitation is widely read between the lines. Though the stories are lined in these areas, the book cannot be termed as a tear jerker or too deep into human miseries. Bouki and the cocaine is the story I really liked where the protagonist finds loads of cocaine and tries to reform his community in a different way…

Bitter Sweets, by Roopa Farooki

2010-05-21T20:36:00.001+05:30

As usual, I am inclined towards books that draw a small drama with enchanting prose and a theme of immigrants and the family saga. This book narrates the theme well with a happy tone – not the tear dripping struggle or hardships to the extreme. It traces the path of Henna, her marriage to the rich Calcutta family, their daughter Shona, and her sons – a story that sweeps continents. Built on a fortress of lies and deception, each character is alive and captured brilliantly. I am compelled not to write more as this is a book to be experienced.

A Town Called Panic

2010-04-16T21:22:00.001+05:30

Some movies, even though they belong to the category of animation, which could very well be under estimated, could capture minds and keep you amazed by the sheer creative energy! I got a hint of this when I watched the Belgian movie ‘A Town Called Panic’. This Belgian stop-motion animated film directed by Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, stars three plastic toys named Cowboy, Indian and Horse.

On the event of Horse’s birthday, Cowboy and Indian order a gigantic pile of bricks for making a barbeque as the gift which triggers of a series of wacky events including the one in which the trio chase down the ‘creature’ who stole their walls. Each scene is done well with the minute details captured in the frame – I could even observe the taps for both hot and cold water J A small blooming romance and the way the horse dreams was putting a smile!

A movie worth watching though there were only four of us in the theater!!!!

The Sound of Language, by Amulya Malladi

2010-04-05T20:28:00.000+05:30

Amulya Malladi’s writing continues to mesmerize me and this being the third book, I was sure of an exhilarating experience on reading the book. The picture of the Afghan looking deep into your eyes was enough to captivate me. As she mentions, this is a book where-in she takes a different plane instead of Indians; Afghans and they as refugees in Denmark.

As typical of other Malladi books, there is a centralized theme and the story so beautifully enriches it through the various chapters. Bee-keeping is the picture she draws in this tale and it finds a way to your heart like the bee dance. Raihanna moves to Denmark as a refugee from Kabul under the ferocity of Taliban and the fearful rumor that her husband is dead. As the Danish law, she would need to learn Danish language and find a job which puts her into a difficult spot, but the courageous nature and unhampered spirits drives her to Gunnar, a widower, the expert in bee-keeping, the idea being to learn Danish well as per the language school. The narration as the author paints Gunnar and his fear of loneliness is touching.

“He was bitterly angry that she was dead and he alive, still alive, unable to just lie down in the grave with her.”

I liked the style where each chapter started with a note from the diary of Anna, Gunnar’s late wife as it carefully sculpts the excellent observation skills – I felt I was harvesting the bees and relishing the warm honey along with the characters.

A wonderful read with a social message as Raihanna considers the veil and a stint about neo-Nazis, makes this a memorable read in under 220 pages.

Sputnik Sweetheart, by Haruki Murakami

2010-04-01T23:24:00.002+05:30

I have always liked Murakami’s novels, this being my third read and there is some element that piques our minds. This novel has a surreal feel which leaves the reader to derive an interpretation. Having said that, this cannot be recommended widely as everyone would have to divulge and get the underlying theme.

Sumire, the aspiring novelist, falls in love with Miu, an older woman and the story is being narrated by a third person, referred only as K, an elementary school teacher. The novel gives beautiful narration of Sumire, the relationship with K, the wonderful friendship, the loneliness when she disappears like thin smoke! I believe the novel has some mystique quality when the author describes scenes that equates to spatial planes and time, which I couldn’t comprehend much but kept me glued.

There was one line that I adored: “Sometimes you’re just the sweetest thing. Like Christmas, summer vacation, and a brand-new puppy all rolled into one.”

Love @ Coffee!

2010-03-31T07:30:00.000+05:30

As the world folds its thoughts
To sleep the dusk and wait for dawn
I tune my mind for a dream
The moment we spent, with you my side

You came in bright, the mood so right
The classy dress and trancing looks
The scent of you to sate my tone
As we sped, for a coffee break

The place was calm with no one close
The sweetish cake to waft my mind
As I hummed my lines of muse
The way I feel, with you in soul

I took your hand, a long lost greed
As we sat, in a silent world
I cupped your face with my palms
The way you hold a pretty rose

The love I felt as I saw your eyes
The words I dropped to prove it all
The hint of tear like a darling pearl
And a smile to say it's fine

I can trade my shards of life
For this time that touched my heart
And I would keep, this night for long
As a gift, send by you

The old man who read Love Stories, by Luis Sepulveda

2010-03-16T06:41:00.001+05:30

Nature, survival, human greed for hunt, they all dwell beautifully in this sweet fable set in the lush forest of Ecuador. Moving to the jungle, the old man, the protagonist, learns the art of survival by learning from the Shuar Indians. As time passes, his easy life is supplemented by reading love stories supplied to him by the dentist of the small settlement where he lives in his old hut. The expressions, the various interactions with the fellow beings, the mayor and his motives and every other page has a simple yet profound effect.

The hunt for a jaguar shakes him out of the reverie and the story takes a twist. And a quote about humans leaves us spell bound - “The settlers destroyed the jungle and constructed that masterpiece of civilized man: the desert.”

The Mango Season, by Amulya Malladi

2010-03-08T06:37:00.001+05:30

I am in two minds on writing about this book – one part of me was thrilled and exalted while reading this; the other part did a critique look and found some areas to be similar and heard many times over in other books.

Starting from the cover, there is a centralized theme of mango and pickle all through the book and it is called ‘happiness’ by the protagonist and her brother. Most of the chapters have a recipe to start with and in fact there are scenes where the central characters make those. I did savor many pages with relish, just as I take a ripe mango. The initial pages give a beautiful expression of India and the changes when seen through the eyes of an Indian returning after a period of seven years in the US. The nostalgic mood of the streets, screeching traffic, the color and texture evoke a poignant feel.

The protagonist, Priya Rao is portrayed as a character of strength as she is engaged to an American, defying traditions of her Telugu Brahmin family. The emotional agony that surfaces in her mind as she is made to sit through the traditional ‘bride-seeing’ where she is unable to break the news of her engagement, the conflicting feel whether she would still be accepted as a daughter/granddaughter, on the news being out, all these are crafted with a way that makes it adorable. It even touches upon the family politics about male heirs and matriarchs, the strictest cultural enforcements looming in the family system. A comment about arranged marriages was truly unique!

“"Even though I was raised in a society where arranged marriages was the norm, I always thought it was barbaric to expect a girl of maybe twenty-one years to marry a man she knew even less than the milkman, who, for the past decade, had been mixing water with the milk he sold the family."”

However, the story became predictable for me towards the end and probably other books in the same genre could be a reason.

Still, it’s a fast, humorous and good read for a nice feel!

Return to Almora, by RK Pachauri

2010-03-06T10:05:00.001+05:30

This book came as a shock – I would better say, it came down striking a blow, shattering preconceived notions beguiled by the back flap of the book. True to me, I didn’t read any reviews before embarking on the ‘spiritual’ journey along with the protagonist Sanjay Nath. The loosely connected, titillating events or ‘carnal’ pleasures in his life with vivid descriptions turned me off instantly.

As the initial scenes unfolded, I made myself believe it could be for setting a backdrop for driving the whole importance of meditation, self discipline and the life beyond. Alas, I was drawn into the whirlpool of further escapades, making me wanting to finish this for I bought this!

There were some other books mentioned as references which seem an interesting pick and the other thing I liked is towards the end when he gives a simple way of explaining spiritual being which gets lost in the ‘masala’ throng that permeates the entire book.

The Piano teacher, by Janice Y.K.Lee

2010-02-28T19:26:00.000+05:30

Quite a different read- always had this book to be read sometime as I thought this could be a window to the exotic oriental, which I am enthused about at times. With that preset notion, I devoured this book, only to be disappointed initially. A truckload of modernity overwhelmed me – a tirade of party goer slang with zillion dazzling champagne flutes, toasts and dress flown in from Paris for occasions, bored me in continuing this book.

The moment changed when the Christmas came when Hong Kong was gripped by word war II and was down under the Japanese invasion. The effect of war, the quietening of senses and emotions as masses struggle and stagger under a foreign influence are drawn with impeccable beauty, without much trace of the goriness that makes us abstain from those war time novels. Tracing a tangent along the extremities, the author is able to trudge along beautifully with war in the backdrop and the way it slips into daily lives where some sprung up as opportunists to side the enemy for material benefits ending in burning bridges with friends and streams of tears.

The author alternates between pre and post war as she unravels the lives of Trudy, Claire and the man they are intimate with – Will. Spanning the breadth of this book, I was attached and fell apart at various sections and would not consider it as a great read, but not a bad one either…

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

2010-02-22T11:20:00.000+05:30

Interesting title – the first word that hopped in when I decided on this book on suggestions from wonderful reader colleagues. At the first glance, it is the story of a travelling circus, the colors, the canvas tops, the tricks and the parade. Deep down, there is much more in the offering like the ingredients of a master piece – be it the love for animals, the background hum all throughout the book, the human factor, a friendship and the breath of a fresh romance.

Jacob Jankowski leaves his life as a Cornell University veterinary student after losing both his parents in a car accident, and jumps onto a train that happens to house the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. The novel is structured as a memoir when Jacob is in old age home musing over his life. The seamless transition of Jacob in the past to the present is rendered beautifully with the reader awake as if from a dream. With a skill of keen observation, the behaviors of animals, especially, Rosie the elephant, the business eye behind circus, the cruelty arising from money, are all portrayed. A lot of circus terms and other English colloquial words gives an authenticity and completion. The romance that buds between Jacob and Marlena as they are united in their love for Rosie reaches the hearts of readers, especially when Jacob says – “I want her to melt into me, like butter on toast. I want to absorb her and walk around for the rest of my days with her encased in my skin”.

The life of Jacob in old age home as he talks about his kids and the way elders are treated gives a jolt, misting the eyes on several instances. When Jacob talks about age - "Age is a terrible thief. Just when your getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out from under you and stoops your back. It makes you ache and muddies your head and silently spreads cancer throughout your spouse." This made me think, as I kept staring into space for a while….

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

2010-02-16T16:57:00.001+05:30

by Alexander McCall Smith

It was quite by chance that I sighted this book again as it was perched somewhere in my reading wish list awaiting its turn. Initially suggested by a friend at the book club meet-up, I did a Google search and knew about the book only to be tagged, ‘to read’.

I was ambling - or more a reading block due to a mystery book picked up on whim from the bookstore rack, in the expensive line contrary to my second hand book choices. The ‘No 1 Ladies Detective Agency’ popped in as a savior, quickening my pace of reading with a well written yet simple series of events lined in pages offering pure reading pleasure. Though the title boasts of ‘detective’, this is not the classic ‘whodunit’ or a hardcore crime fiction. Set in various chapters, the book gives a colorful depiction of Africa, Botswana in particular through the various characters surrounding ‘Ms Precious Ramotswe’, the protagonist and the detective. The reader is offered a peek into the history, traditions, and the life of her father and the mining industry that prevailed with a flavor of emotions. This goes side by side with various instances of instinctive methods in solving the cases.

A light and fast read, this book keeps you hooked and would leave with an instant feel of making the protagonist a favorite.

Shiva Dancing, by Bharti Kirchner

2010-02-15T09:48:00.001+05:30

This debut novel by the author is set in the backdrop of vibrant India - fate of human beings alters every seven years, attributed to the dance of Shiva. True to this, Meena, the central character, made alive and vivid by a wonderful prose, gets a sharp turn in her life at the age of seven when she was abducted by bandits in Rajasthan. The story unspools as Meena crosses the oceans to Bay Area in California as a Software Project Manager with the author delving into details so familiar to an IT professional, yet devoid of any mundane narration. As years pass by, Meena is tugged at heart to be back to India, to be close to her ‘husband’ when she was married at age seven. Emotions, internet, IT jargons, Indian delicacies, all nurture this wonderfully written book, proving to be an entertainer and light read with a Bollywood twist to keep you animated!

Dosa Wars - The Chutney Menace!

2009-12-21T10:10:00.001+05:30

The place where I serve my stint of bachelorhood is home to numerous eat-outs, be it the flamboyant diners with an ala carte appealing to varied taste buds or the legendary ‘sagars’ – the pet name for the small mushroom eateries noted for the ‘standing’ position in which the clientele enjoys the food. The alias name lies in prefixing the favored deity name alongside and apart from this minor variation, the menu would be standard but some places really boast an exceptional palette.

It was to one of those joints that my weekend plan was directed after the customary walk in the evening, where a cold breeze tries it’s best to flutter amidst the belch of automotive pollutions. The slow pace gives pleasure to the eyes in registering the colorful evening strollers and I reached the destination, high with life and a mild craving to snack on dosa, the pronounced delicacy. The place has a glittered frame with an award for best dosa in town, much like a coveted Miss India crown.

As the name, the queue remains unrelenting with a wide audience in all ages to get a nibble of this crown jewel. Willy-nilly, I kept my position intact, fervently wishing to reach the counter with my fellow fanatics in the throng. A dad in the mid forties with a look that bestows a meritorious track record of eating dosas was attempting the feat of a college kid by ambling in through the sides, disrespectful to the divine queue. Well, I had a smirk but another family seemed to have lost patience and a harmless argument ensued. The rival family was armed with a dad and son and there were questions and statements flying around.

Soon there was a twist with the words changing genre to a more abusive with family members being enacted in the litany. The son was equally competitive with having newly released curse words aiding him. The fight was abounding and there were push and shoves and many had lost their hard earned dosas and many onlookers were anointed with chutney in the raging duel. Considering my health and having lost a generous appetite, I took a safe path by ambling towards the ‘balcony’ to see the fight being clamed down by minions.

Candle light Curd-Rice!

2009-11-30T12:48:00.001+05:30

It was one of those days in office wherein time sprawls around a zillion things. A ‘designer’ email lazed around in my email inbox, announcing the birthday of a colleague. Soon, it made a mark in the neighboring cubes of my team members and hushed murmurs around the content ensued – the comments were centered on the email not of the ‘standard’ template!! The reference was to an email sent a year back with a bouquet inside and being re-used for all occasions with the exception of names changed to match the character in limelight.

There was a thought to celebrate this b’day in a different way – to add a creamy tone by cake cutting. The idea was thrown in during a team meeting and I had my ‘lateral think engine’ on, to oppose this with silly reason of this not being done for others. Needless to say, my silly remark was tramped by majority and we ended up in a choco mocha cake that looked scrumptious.

The awaited hour came and the birthday boy came in to cut the cake – there were office jokes about estimating the cut to fit everyone‘s appetite. A question was popped – “What’s the plan for tonight?” Before the answer, I had a devilish thought given the advantage of sitting far and busy in polishing the piece of cake. I blurted “Candle light Curd Rice” :) and there were giggles all around me. Before it rose to a menacing laughter, I could gleefully vacate on the pretext of a non existent call!!!!

The age of 'unholyness'!!

2009-11-23T14:45:00.006+05:30

“Will it rain today?” bellowed the village Sarpanch,commonly known as headman in anglicized vocabulary.

“Ji”, parroted the devotional henchman, in an attempted husky voice as befitting a macho image. Sadly, the voice rhymed wailings of a wet cat.

“Well, I think it won’t rain!” corrected the headman in a tone of meteorological aura. Needless to say, the comment was echoed back by Bheem, appointed henchman cum aide-de-camp to the headman of Baiwan, a bordering village in northern India. There was a spurt of cough with ceremonious shower of spitballs marking a bourgeois of authority, adeptly caught by Bheem in a sizzling brass urn thereby reclaiming the esteem of a right hand.

A serene Indian village scene wafts into our minds constituting of basic ingredients – a near drying well, a typical village gorgeous ambling down with a face doused with frown at comments from unruly and immature urchins,a complacent grandmother figurine who sees the sun and a partaker in nature’s plan for rains. The picture deems complete with the afore mentioned headman squatting near a Neem tree and the adc in tow at his beck and call.

***************

As seen through the row of palm trees bordering the village, a bullock cart wheezed by. The lone passenger crouched or more aptly, hunched and bears a disfigured look due to a mere positioning amidst a flurry of leaves,vegetables and other green and vivid colors floating in the cart. The only sound piercing the equilibrium of commute was added by occasional monotones while maneuvering the bull, a soul V-Tec engine powering the cart.

Raj was in a Technicolor mood, thoughts ranging from quantum physics – formulas idolized from wide rimmed hefty books and the road to a coveted three letter dream – IAS, pronouncing him as one of the keepers of Indian office. An oath taken for adhering vested interests of nation. He remembered the day that decided a line of destiny drawn in his career glamour. The way his dad ran to his room with a copy of Times, his results in bold guaranteeing a place in Indian administration. The tears of joy that spread around his family, the sweets to neighbors with pride as ketchup, and an assured rank in marriage market – phew, a long saga.

With a shudder, the thoughts veered away to the task at hand – a bile churning memory. He was summoned to his superior’s office on a fine day. He entered gingerly to the old mahogany paneled chamber of director, rural services.“Ah, there you are, young man”, an ethereal voice soon to be attached to a cavernous mouth and other features well in abundance greeted and ushered him. “Rambhai, two chai”, came an order from the hulk.

“Well, welcome to my humble abode,” a marking statement to perplex Raj. Soon an array of work done by Raj, particularly the feedbacks and areas where Raj showed his skill were highlighted. “You are well suited for this, Mr. Raj”, this is a highly visible assignment. The entire country will be waiting for you to perform and see the results.”

“Ya, ya, like I didn’t know”, muttered Raj, not to evoke consternation from the thrilled officer. In the uninvited passage of thoughts, he couldn’t grasp the nature of work at hand and the specifications to which he might be needed to tune himself. The prospects seemed bleak, for he could picture an arid village with a vulture flying in the backdrop.

Things were set in paper and the official title was to assist the sarpanch in daily administration tasks adding value with his expertise. The village was soon to be attached to a bigger district, and if fared well, he could even look forward to be the deputy collector.

******************************************

“Mar gaya kya?” (Dead?), a deep voice threw him awake from his siesta en route, while he drew to terms with the present. He could see something solid, not to be underestimated as a stick poking and marking his body, as if it were a bull and a built in figure holding it.

Though he read avidly about the village in a drowsydrunken mode in official journals and his personal interest in peering over Wikipedia’s, a warm welcome of this,‘touchy’ in all aspects was quite unheard of! He thought over a response, failing in doing so, painted calm innocence on his face and presented himself as the chosen one from Sarkar.

Raj thought he saw a glint of respect in the human, only to be replaced by a fear when a crooked figure, well into the age to be called by Saint Peter, the falling tress of white hair, a raised arm symbolizing power appeared at the scene. Undoubtedly, this was the king to be dealt with – an inner voice egged him to say a welcome at least, which he stuttered in the most amiable way.

After the perfunctory round of introductions, much to Raj’s relief as Hindi was the prevalent medium of communication, they reached to the task at hand. In his plain, high school Hindi, polished by college education that added local flavor, immensely enriched with swear words,he explained the various benefits to the village from government schemes, the innumerable policies aimed for uplifting rural, the befall of goodwill to all. He was accustomed to a down-to-earth manner, a trait accrued from years of service. The villagers were positively enthused, sat awed to his skilful oration and one among the lot clapped, followed by others in unison.

The Sarpanch seemed to be taken aback momentarily, a slight fear rising in his gut as he thought of his power being snatched by a newbie, the ‘someone-from-Sarkar’. In a manner of asserting supremacy, he groaned – “Well said,babu. We will soon see to it. Do discuss with Bheem, he knows a lot on the ways of Sarkar.”
Raj couldn’t be more surprised as how could Bheem be erudite on ways of Sarkar. A while later, the thought sank in – the theorem of hype and grab visibility came in vivid to his mind.

The meetings with the population, though the word indicates a group of fifty odd families were recurring to be twice in a week. The location was preset, the usual spot under the tree presided over by the sarpanch. Raj’s opinion was sought out for each decision though they were seldom being finalized. The place seemed to be ringing with Bheem – bheem here, bheem there. One would think he would be the heir, if not for a puny son character, being brought to the world at a time when the sarpanch still had some of his anatomy kept in a well oiled manner.

“We need three strong men to be on the fields to complete these on time,” commented Raj once in those holy sermons. Even without knowing the minutiae of farming, he could grab as much as information that could lead to a successful crop. The entire plan of his ‘team’ of workers was laid out by him on the withering ground, a thought reminiscent of many nights deep into reading under a solitary oil lamp. Predictably, the plan was soon constricted, distorted in a myriad way by Bheem, involving his peanut sized brain’s ideas.

Meddled by rejection, he spoke to his officer quite often,the one who deployed him at this very location. To talk to him was a task in itself as the only phone booth was close to three hours of trotting in a cart.

“How are you my man?” the cheerful glee at the other end of line invigorated him. “Heard you are having some trifles” at this raj was truly amazed. How did this get to him! There could be someone in the midst, the confidante for both.

“I’m okay Sir, trying to get the things rolling.” In a small span, he listed down the woes and was rewarded by promises in glitterati.

As a meeting was to its end, an announcement from the Sarpanch startled him. “I am going to Banaras for a few days, Bheem will preside over everything. Approach Bheem for matters.”

He felt giddy. The early morning air, damp with dew couldn’t help easing out his mind, which was devoid of any feelings. Long months of confrontation have left him weak. He longed for a familiar face, though couldn’t blame any of the villagers who helped him and was with him.

“I guess, I’ve had enough”, spoke Raj loudly to scare a row of pigeons from his roof. Within seconds, he crossed the farm, past the pond, the lively river and the arriving sun could see him running fast, faster than his legs could carry him…

Husband, Wife & Kiddo!

2009-11-02T14:20:00.004+05:30

My monthly visit to a ‘barber shop’ or more attuned to modern times, a hair artist’s den, entrusts me with moments that can be carved out as anecdotes in a casual gathering with friends as the observed mannerisms turn ethereal. A wide range of clientele flocks to this joint to get their unruly manes domesticized, the greed for a paled face by subjecting to a four legged contraption or beauty machine that turns them to demigods in seconds time!

While I was getting my regular cut by the stylist, but without much style to speak of as I prefer a regular, harmless reduction in the tress, a family ambled in with a hyper active prodigy. As the child was respectfully seated, a shower of instructions marked the beginning of a ‘ritualistic’ hair cut. Both the dad and mom were equivocal; with an array of ideas for their little one’s looks. The dad with a powdered white appearance had a wide gold chain for the world to see as he believed in unbuttoning the frontal face of his shirt. The hands and fingers were equally golden and could easily pass on for a mannequin in a jewel shop if not for his thick black moustache.

They could be heard above the din in the shop even in the midst of a cricket match aired on the TV, the bollywood songs from the FM radio and the regular commotion all around in the ambience. I had the misfortune to see the enormous saga as the mirror facing me was telecasting it live and exclusive during my hair cut. The dad kept circling back and forth with discussions of a business deal over the glossy cell phone, the gist could be understood even by the ‘local-language-challenged’ me. The queen took charge in his absence and was crammed in between the stylist, the chair and it evoked some hidden smiles all around. Well, she might be the one wearing pants occasionally.

All through this, the child and his growth, a tit bit of intimacy and the sweet smiles completed the drama for the spectators as bonus, leaving the shop for a roaring laughter as they left the stage!!!

A Wondrous life??

2009-10-28T14:16:00.009+05:30

Back to dreams, the littered mind
Back to soul, crimson hues
Never free for a serene time
As memories play a long lost tune

I pondered on this muddled realm
The wondrous life of an IT guy
Everyday that proves shoulder high
Of boulders to climb and never there

When workload shuns a flowing mind
Proactive bliss to show your face
‘Tantric’ ways to amble far
A motley crew of holy chaos

The emails flow at rapid pace
A code to see, teams to knock
A king to face, to fare well in reign
Someone to see, your trodden path

The weekend highs as aptly named
To lift ones veil, in 'case' of drinks
A revved up life that's two days strong
A wander back on Monday morn

Budding thoughts for aiming high
To be nipped by daily chores
The games we play to sail this path
A pressure globe, ready to burst

The timeless tale to make us strong
A gain to live in muddied days
To gather force and shape our being
The sing song world of ‘IT kicks’

Paranoia!

2009-10-14T17:57:00.005+05:30

Like the stones on rocky slopes
Tumble down, when one kicks them hard
A stream of thoughts veers my way
My frame of life tilts to recent past

To those days of this dazzling you
Where every word was a bead of pearl
Where every dream had you in lead
And I get to hear my humming heart

I was struck with solid gold
Enamored boon, called as ‘being friends’
I grew my greed to know her more
To open doors of her obscure woes

Invading her mind to make her well
I didn’t know of the space I groped
Dismissing me in a slurry of words
She termed as ‘paranoia’, my extreme care

I shadow her mind or do I taint
Her feelings that form, a need to be free
Some eerie days that rocks me wild
Sleep on move in a varied path

Is this blessing, or is this a curse?
Or a puzzle in hands of fate
As I stumble at times in dark
With my mind that waits for her

A rain to blame!

2009-07-21T13:55:00.003+05:30

My mind was traced with strokes of pain
Like a painting with tears in vogue
Swaying past the lanes of woes
An unborn fear; yet so near and real

As I mulled over the weekend spent
The plan to see and share some thoughts
To be free from office chores
To spend some time with you in mind
The mode of fate had its own twirl

And when you said to chuck the plan
For, the sky was grey with clouds in mold
Like some ants that walk in line
But I lost me in the worldly space
I felt so lone and pinned by grief

A sea of muse to gulf me far
A tune of rage that hummed my mind
I spoke to you to gain me back
The way you chide to tease my mind
The way you warn my cautious thoughts

I was warmed for the care you give
But when I saw the sky so clear
Not a stain of cloud in view
I miss you more for I lost the chance
And it's only the rain to blame

Of an IT Bond!

2009-06-05T10:11:00.001+05:30

“Are you joining us for a tea?” ----- A voice loomed through the serene surroundings of Aditi’s cubicle. She leaned over to see the familiar faces, the people whom she dealt with everyday as they happen to be colleagues. She works in a multinational; the tinted glass of her office building boasts the very fact of high pay packets and ultimate style. The thought of getting together at the café table brought a shudder.

She mulled over a past experience – they would soon gripe about the office, a lethal character assassination of other groups, teams and even criticisms aimed at their bosses. There would be surreptitious glances, suppressed laughs as they wind their way to the next prey. The gathering could be well said as a true re-incarnation of the teenage-college clan, but she was not in vogue for that.

“Nope, go ahead, I need to finish something and push off early.”

“There you are, as usual, not in the mood. What’s biting you pal?” giggled Payal, the self proclaimed witty, ever ready with quips marked at others. The group received this with more chuckles and moved on. Aditi shrugged it off and sat agaze at her computer feigning work. Not able to concentrate, her eyes hovered around and came to halt at a ‘Friends Forever’ card and soon the train of thoughts seeped in.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

They were a two-girl gang, Aditi and Akshaya, quite popular in the office as they fluttered around with gleeful faces. Driven by the hep attitude, they were able to blend a cocktail of office life and get along well with others. The other colleagues were envious as it was quite uncommon for flourishing friendships at office spaces. She thought of her first meeting with Akshaya when she joined her previous office.

“This is Akshaya, your team member”, told her boss to a nervous Aditi as she looked and smiled at her. An assuring smile, radiant with confidence and soon she found herself talking to Akshaya. It didn’t take long for a friendship to sprout between them. They were soon chattering away all the free time, words flowed in easily and they had so much in common. She was her confidante and they enjoyed the times together.

As she peered more into the card, tears welled up in her eyes. She thought about the last time she had seen Akshaya. It was at the airport, while she was embarking on a journey for higher studies. Aditi remembered that she was always good at studies, ranked more than the above average girl she was. Her idea of studies putting a break to career puzzled her and she couldn’t forget the day when Akshaya put the thought through.

“Hey babes, I am flying” – a sudden remark and a hug startled Aditi as she was trying to resolve some day to day issues at work. It was Akshaya with a visibly infectious smile and an air of achievement. She panted all through while telling the fact that she had won a coveted scholarship to the US for studies. At first, the news didn’t sink in as Aditi said a quick ‘congrats yaar’ and listened further. It shocked her as the seriousness of the matter hit her after a while. She was bereft, being lost the ability to think on anything. “What will I do if she leaves so sudden… ……Whom do I talk to?” the questions kept pacing in. A snapshot of their friendship was aired in her mind.

“Don’t you worry, I would call you and email”, after all we would be friends forever”, hushed Akshaya as she held Aditi’s hand and tried best to control her emotions. Everything seemed so fast, her packing and seeing her off at the airport. They kept in touch and occasional calls resounded the days of friendship. Soon, times changed and the dreaded word ‘busy’ drew the space between them and emails were mere wishes for festivals or for birthdays.

She struggled to keep herself busy at office but it was close to impossible with no one to run to, to share a joke. She left the company as the emptiness of her leaving aggravated, and lured by brand image, joined the present company and couldn’t make friends with anyone.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

“Bing!!! – announced the presence of an email, that shook her awake from the flurry of thoughts. It was the mail from Akshaya, after a long interval of months.

“I am coming for vacation, let’s catch up” – though in a simple line, it conveyed a lot of unspoken emotions and she was smiling.

“Hey Payal, wait up, I am also joining”, ran Aditi gleaming with joy……

Ring of Rain!

2009-05-14T17:13:00.003+05:30

The face of clock showed a mood of dusk
The sky turned black like darkened mist
Ready to weep, the woes of days
Laden deep in the wombs of time

The first drop flew, past raging winds
Good old earth spreads wings of care
To take its soul in bosom warmth
A wait for more that spills from skies

The spell soon broke; an unleashed song
Spikes or spears from quiver of clouds
Awash by waves, the world stood still
To take the blows of olden deeds

Though at times, it smiles so sweet
To cradle lives and see them bloom
A childhood speck that cross my mind
Of splash in puddles and little boats

The tranquil earth after every rain
And a moist smell wafts in air
I feel my self that calms its tone
The ring of rain with mystic modes

One more Chance!

2009-03-12T20:46:00.007+05:30

Would I get, a chance to see
This beauty face, laced with truth
The blooming girl that flew in life
A slice of a smile to run my mind

As I fly, for that day in life
To a place that’s far in space
To make me lone from your thoughts
As I dream your eyes that shine

The times we shopped and spent our talks
Browsing books and cups of tea
To know us more and grow as friends
Nostalgic moods that peep in mind

My complaint tone when, I miss a glimpse
A look from you that shows your style
The times I try to get with you
Fear to lose the days with you

I hope to see you more and more
And a lot than you can think
I wish I get a second chance
To grasp that face, in my memory lanes…..

Air-borne

2009-03-10T22:06:00.007+05:30

Finally, the day broke its dawn where-in I had to travel back to Bangalore – to get into the daily scuffle of work, the music in chaos of day to day life, the thrums of millions en route, the charismatic opulence of riches and rags. Oops, am I having a critique panorama of my motherland? Better to cease the uncanny thoughts. The last week in Minneapolis was hectic, with lots of over-the-coffee discussions with team members I closely worked with during the course of my stay that spanned a grandiose four winter months.

Having got a drop at the airport by a great friend, I was eager to finish the formalities of check-in and stove my luggage, two large suitcases, aptly multicolored, that have already been eyed upon by passersby with that ‘Indians-carry-a-lot’ look. There was some issue at the check-in process, though made light by a smile of the ticketing agent as technical glitch – my data was not pulled up correctly at the reservation system. My java enabled brain was let loose to do a root cause of the problem to find potential solutions or at least a troubleshoot scenario! Would it be a Database issue? Would it have some hassles at the User Interface end? - Strange thoughts swimming at unnecessary times. The savior arrived decked up in a black tuxedo and armed with a peppermint smile delving into the subject right away indicating the fastidious skills of airlines crew. An alternate option was proposed and agreed upon by the ticketing agent giving a green signal for me to embark on my return journey.

Tortured by hunger as the time signaled lunch, I and a colleague tried to gobble down some Mexican food, the blandness of it alleviated by making it closer to Indian by ceremoniously spraying many packets of salt and pepper. We parted ways as his flight was in another direction with a promise to meet at Paris since the itinerary joined us there. I would have literally mumbled a song from Bollywood flicks themed on friendship and whatnot!

The first leg from Minneapolis to Detroit would have been uneventful if not for miss M, a college grad who shared the seat next to mine with an iPod and a sweatshirt that flared an American University logo. Conversation undulated easily rather than perfunctory greetings that people succumb to in front of total strangers. The second trip flew faster as I recollect less since I got a pretty good sleep broken at times by the zest of air crew to stuff me with their delicacies. We seem to be the chosen one as they gave the first set of meals to a selected few – not a preference or privilege as it turned out that we gave special orders for Asian food.

A bit of planning ensured that my friend was seated close in the flight to Bangalore with an aim to talk to reduce the pain in travelling approximately eight hours. Sadly, not even the first sentence did get a response as when the cabin crew announced take- off, the dearest friend was completing initial rituals of a lengthy slumber and I, for fear of an angry look, left her dreaming in that vivid world. After few hours of trashing in my music player, I got something vaguely termed as a sleep, only to be woken up by countless lights announcing the arrival.

The journey can be termed as complete only when I walked out and boarded a taxi back to my apartment with voices ringing of my friend who got her baggage delayed and news about the other colleague who missed the whole second part from Paris.

an IT chronicle!

2009-03-06T18:56:00.007+05:30

Hari looked around his cubicle in exasperation, his face drawn into a grimace. He leafed his hands through the slapdash pile of printouts on his table, pronouncing to be some articles in technology. He didn’t have any intention to ponder them though at times they helped to quell his boredom. He explored the ambience and through his eyes, everyone seemed to be jollifying. There were giggles from some cubes and husky voices from conference rooms, which can be concocted as team meetings.

It was only 30 minutes since he messaged her, the 4th message of the day via ip communicator. The last time was promising as she at least messaged back saying the dreaded word, ‘sorry’ as she was busy owing to hectic work schedules. The first three attempts were futile and the message windows were ruthlessly closed, the moment it popped up on her screen. Shameless enough, he checked her status in communicator, which apparently indicated ‘In a Meeting’.

Why is that the thoughts about her creep over, delving me into dreams? He spoke mutely as he didn’t want his peers to peek into. More he evaded them; the more they came back as if carrying an imaginary vengeance. He wanted to talk, make her a friend to share dreams with. Thoughts like crush, love were plebian to him as he claimed to be non-flirtatious. He carried remarks of being a thoughtful person, though more appropriately as someone who thinks unnecessarily. He didn’t heed to any of those, as he had all the time in the world for any harmless emotional indulgence; some strategic decisions at office delayed his prospective aspirations at work.

He met her eyes a couple of weeks back at the cafeteria, when he was lost in a daily routine of insipid breakfast, which he succumbed owing to hunger. Her gleeful face, demure smile, the beatific voice and her flowing tress, churned loads of emotions in his IT-boggled mind. The world suddenly seemed a better place to live in, and the idly-sambar in front of him had a magical transformation to an apple pie or pastry. He glanced at her surreptitiously, each look registering more of her, deep into him.

He kept seeing her almost everyday at work, and he was proactive enough in finding her cubicle. To his joy, she sat in the same floor as his and occasionally bumped into him. But the only word that rolled out from him was a sputtered ‘Hi’, though he thought over classy starting lines. The attempts through communicator were abortive filled with dismal apologies. Calling her over for coffee was adventurous, but he refrained himself as it might end in a trump card from her side leading to a complete full stop.

Should I stop annoying her? May be I should concentrate more in being blah blah blah’s of something than idling in cheesy reflections. And I wouldn’t want to trouble others, for everyone was busy at work. The philosophical notions started seeping in as he was agaze at his monitor and wanted to shut down his memory for some time.

‘Excuse me’ – a soft, gentle voice echoed in the air and he leapt to take a look. With disbelief, he saw Her, standing in front as she continued – “Could you please help me in knowing about your project domain?”

He brushed philosophy aside and retorted with a newly found happiness – “Yep, tell me…… “

Cradling!

2009-02-15T03:47:00.007+05:30

Don’t get me wrong here; I am not citing a part time achievement of acquiring a baby sitter role! This is a last week incident which started as a casual get together, a distinct one. Few of us decided to gather at a pub next to office during the happy hours for talk other than regular Java or related technologies that makes the life bread.

It was initially a bit difficult for me to get the groove and converse in the typical phrase and slang of US English. Slowly I was into the rhythm and was better off in speaking on many things. I could hit a common ground of music I listen and the never ending Indian way of things – be it traffic in Bangalore, the lifestyle, the cuisine and so on.

There was another colleague of ours who joined with his little baby girl – a cute darling who is weeks old. Everyone was enchanted by her sweet face and the way she cuddled up in her sleep. Soon she was handed over to others who were ready to take her in their arms. I was evidently scared, for I have never taken such a small kid.

The question was soon posed – “Would you want to take her?”, as if in a trance, I slowly took the girl in my arms. The scare was spread across my face and was blushing lightly. The entire gang was looking at me, making me nervous. There were cheers to egg me on. The feeling was unbelievable and I was soon comfortable, but before long, I gave the baby back to her mother.

An experience to a future endeavor – may be!

Walk on Water!

2009-02-09T02:56:00.004+05:30

Well, there has been some talk in my team to make me adventurous as the cold Minnesotan weather demands one to be! I have landed right at the beginning of winter, to my office here in Minneapolis. The first few months were spent with least interest in anything as work and winter were raging war. I was proactive to enroll myself into the central library and devour some books with an initial zest. Again, the interest ceased to prosper as day to day activities took precedence with calls to my team members back home in place of dreams in the night!

Ideas were pouring in during the team meetings some of them went far as to push me to the street when it’s freezing cold and so on, the thought of which still runs a chill down my spine. The weather was wavering between below zeroes to somewhere positive in the past weeks. Finally this Friday, the idea of “walking on water” came up and won the majority poll.

We drove down in cars to Lake Calhoun, a beautiful one in the Minneapolis area. We parked the car and trotted slowly to the lake. The first view itself was breathtaking for me. An entire stretch of fluffy snow spread across the whole lake. An unimaginable scenery depicting calmness as the lake was completely frozen

The next part of the plan was to do the miracle of walking on water. I was carefully entering the lake from the bank where my team was positioned and was precarious of my normal shoes which might give away and make me slip. The ice was solid hard and a bit slippery. Within minutes, I was standing on the lake and that was the moment of glory ! I could feel the happiness spreading on my face as read by my team!

Lonely Star

2009-02-04T08:11:00.004+05:30

As the night brought the end
Of a day, that was done
With the moon, all set to shine
Spilling earth with milky white

Staring the sky, she showed her face
A candid glow, a lovely gleam
Adrift with, her mind so vague
In a mist of lonely thoughts

I yearned to reach, to be near
To cheer her up to bring that smile
But sad, as her face had said
She wafted far, to be lone

She thought through life, a mystic tale
That gave her ups and the little downs
She closed her mind and her pretty face
To ponder through some time in space

She still stays hurt, by words or deeds
And my stupid talk saw no light
She stayed so calm and seldom spoke
Like a storm that vent it’s rage

I was choked to see her pain
The trouble times that makes her cry
I longed to touch, to softly kiss
To get her color, to paint her mind

I could dream her glistened face
An uncried tear in the shine
As it slowly grazed her cheek
I wished to hold her, in my arms

How I want her to be glad
For, without her, I’m lone

Measure of Loss

2008-12-04T22:37:00.006+05:30

As I gaze through my window sills
I see snow that fleets its way
Winging down like elves from sky
Cheering me to surge my mood

My mind rings of a tender tone
A caring voice that guides my heart
It’s when I think the loss I yield
Seeping truths when she’s not near

A million times in every week
Blinking thoughts with wind like gait
When I miss this diamond dove
A note from her or a gentle call

It’s not smile; nor a pretty face
A little dear, I adore my life
Not a teeming cheer that delves her in
A stellar being for my stifling throes

Yet I know, she would waft from me
Like the poles that drift in time
To an unknown land, a lane that’s far
To make me lone in drilling pain

Could I wish to hold her back?
It’s a content feel; a blissful mark
To see her more when I return back
To rerun dreams of being close

A thank you line

2008-11-09T02:09:00.005+05:30

A thank you line, to say I care
The one who’s close, like my life
The ways of feel, that snakes my mind
The lines of love to top it all

A word of thanks, for a friendship suite
Like a tear that glints from eyes
Or a pearl that forms in seas
A lucid dream, the blooming spring

For the way, my princess smiles
The loving charms and peppy moods
The moves to trance stormy thoughts
To tune my soul, skip my beats

The times we spent to feel your mind
A greed to hold and touch your hand
A wish to kiss, this rosebud lips
To be blessed, as you know me well

The moments true, of real zeal
A pat or nod to give me wings
An ‘i-warned-you’ look to think a bit
For rising guilts or stupid thoughts

Thus I say thanks to set
Words that swell, my heart and soul
As I pray, to have you as mine
When our lives give, a second chance

A Tale of Smile

2008-10-08T15:23:00.003+05:30

Your smile,
Like a timeless tale
It gives me life
In my days of woe

The one which starts
As a gentle wave
Like a butterfly
In it’s path

The way it forms
On your lips
Like a perfect note
In the tune of love

Your smile is sent
From your face that shines
To my heart
That waits on and on

My world is lit
By your sweetish smile
With a light of glee
That gleams like moon

I would stay
To see it bloom
For I would die

When it stops for me…

An Autumn Leaf

2008-08-29T13:39:00.002+05:30

When the world stays so calm
My mind turns full; turmoil on roll
A thought of you, a spark of light
That flew in me like clouds in sky

Some times of life that we sliced
To get the feel of warmth and joy
To name the line that tugs us close
The edge on which our minds slide by

There were eyes with glance of spell
Giving room for blatant thoughts
But still we sought and made our days
Skimmed the slush of envious moods

And as time stepped its pace on full
Scores of mesh to seep in through
There we stood knee deep in work
The less we saw to keep us live

The tiny times to share our minds
And I spilled the pearl of care
By lot of talks that circled you
Did I loose your speck of charm?

But now you think to dream on high
To soar your way all strings on loose
Why you fly to leave me lone
Like a leaf in autumn wind

A heartbeat away!

2008-08-04T10:37:00.002+05:30

I was thinking
Of you and your smiling face

Of your jet black hair
Brushing your slender shoulders
The curls it winds
Taking my mind in its sweep

Of the eyelashes that hold
A treasure trove of your dreamy eyes
The one that gently flutters
Taking me for a second look

Of your eyes so deep
A labyrinth where I am lost
Of a nose that flares
Noting a tinkle of thrill

Of lips that tremble
In a tenderly tone
And where I wish
My name lies asleep

Of your head that sways
In your moods of happiness
Of your demure walk
Making my heart skip a beat

Of your warm breath
And a sudden scare
When I pull you close
In my dreams

That’s when I know
You are just a heartbeat away…..

The One !

2008-07-11T17:33:00.004+05:30

To the dearest one
The sweetest in my dreams

The one I reach to
When I’m at crossroads
The one keeping me afloat
When thoughts weigh me down

The one drifting me away
From my melancholy woes
The one helping me bridge
The gaps of troubled times

The one I lean to
When the world is too mean
The one who walks in
When the world walks out

The one who weeps
When I loose my tears
The one who help me smile
When I fail to smile

To the only one
Forever, in my heart……..

A Passing Phase !

2008-06-23T10:04:00.005+05:30

As my age takes a toll
Years those fly in a rage
A shard of life in a reel
Like a techni-color dream

A day that gave me shape and soul
In the world of vivid lives
Me with eyes so shut and charming looks
As fragile as a little pup

The petite yelps
And the slender moves
A stream of tears welling up
In my mom’s wondrous eyes

The cozy warmth
And the gentle pats
As I fuse on to mom
Sucking milk full of life

The aura of glee
When I step out first
A smile that spreads
When I grope, my father’s hand

When I dress to walk to school
And to write from ‘a to z’
A look that gleams
Which says it all

A tone that change
When I am the naughty one
The silly fights
With a brother who loves

A sudden glow
As my birthday’s pass
A content feel
As I give, my paycheck one

The soft giggles
When a blush lines my cheek
As the backdrop set
For a nuptial, that blooms so soon

And when I see kids of mine
Lulled to sleep by my wife
Then I know, of a truth
Life is just, a passing phase

Not Responding !

2007-12-27T18:18:00.000+05:30

There have been times when I feel smashing my head down onto the table; when frustration unleashes the demon! This is not owing to any code that I’ve been working on. The resulting emotion would be different and doesn’t have drastic repercussions. At the most, it can culminate into a composed and thoughtful me and can be seen at the cafeteria, sipping a hot tea where my mind wanders in the logic to be coded.

The topic in discussion occurs when my PC stops responding – the mighty 2GB memory that it boasts about is proven worthless. The CPU seems to be limping with not-any-more attitude. No application, whatsoever is ready to launch. All the open windows bear a tagline of ‘Not Responding’! The development environment set up in my PC is the primary cause for all these ill mannered system syndromes.

Well, the scenario is worth spoiling the mood as it cripples the working ideas, the tiny shards that help me solve some issues. Whatever be the case, I wouldn’t resort to an action as mentioned at the beginning as it would end up in a discussion with higher ups on account of random behavior at workplace!

Thinking of You !

2007-10-29T14:14:00.000+05:30

This can have a flavor of my feelings, nurtured at those times when I lie down, seduced by silence. They are soon molded into a dream wherein I could see a pellucid image of you, clad in beauty even in a dimly lit ambience. You seem to be ornate with your smile, where it all started – a demure smile where I fell for you. These can be shrugged off as an inane musing but I feel the emotions controlling me, making me think of you and you only!!!

Movie-Travel-Trouble !

2007-10-23T16:37:00.000+05:30

This happens to be another narration of a trip to Kerala, the mode of transport being bus. The only reason that I can attribute for using bus as contrary to train is mainly because of an early arrival at home, earning more sweet time with family. The private buses that ply in the routes provide loads of on board entertainment, be it movie or blaring music in lieu of steep fares. Movie is a ubiquitous choice and there would always be a pirated vcd of some recent flicks. Pretty customer oriented, I should say as they vouch to air the movie in its full form.

All these above mentioned add to the background of what happened to me in this recent trip. There was a movie in one of the south Indian languages and ostensibly new. The hero is an auto rickshaw driver by profession who is honest and decent and cannot stand anything against truth and values. He meets the heroine in many ‘crafted coincidental’ situations of which one occasion is when he helps out a kid to reach hospital on time. Needless to say, she is smitten by a slight crush which develops to love as she sees in him, a man of ideals. She finds herself with him; after all, being the daughter of a liquor baron she was in search of forlorn love.

Almost everyone in the bus were resenting to the flow of the movie, some even shouting. I thought this would lead to a happy conclusion of the movie, but I am no story writer as the director had other plans. By this, we were at our first pit stop. I sat and contemplated the sadly laid plot of the story, completely unaware of the unraveling. Enough emotions and tragedy were mellifluously injected and it became complicated. When we were back, the heroine was at the death bed, needing a heart transplant as she was crushed by a lorry in one of those happy mushy scenes with the hero. He goes to the extent of a hijack scene at the hospital as the expense of the operation is unbearable, and no hearts available as there was a Google search page displayed in its pompous form indicating this fact.

Well, the hero gives his heart, eventually sacrificing him and blah blah blah! I was completely agitated and annoyed as it took my sleep away. In any way, the journey was eventful, with a movie trouble.

a fall !

2007-10-18T17:03:00.001+05:30

A day off at the dawn of a week – last Tuesday fulfilled that wish as it was a holiday owing to Gandhi Jayanthi. As usual, multitude of plans were laid out in advance to make the most out of it, though the first thought that flashed into my mind was to stay idle and doze off. My roommates had brilliant ideas of meeting their friends and so on. This led me to be in a competitive mode, as I longed to do something!

I reflected on a trip being planned by couple of my colleagues. This was supposedly a medium complex trip, as opposed to the likings of avid trekkers. The place larked scenic beauty adjoining a waterhole, not far off from the city. But there happened to be a small twist in these premonitions; I had taken to fever-cough-cold syndrome on the eve of Monday and I dropped out, making me worthy of slight anger from the trip organizers. The day dawned to be a normal one, with me having no intentions to step out, barring the food requisites.

I headed for the neighboring food joint, a north Indian one, for my lunch. It was a comfortable place, redolent of home with food served hot and delicious, much disliked by my roomie. I sought a parcel of my favorite dishes and retreated. Slam! – Without realizing what really had happened, I was down. The entire world was upside and I lay there to the stare of all thronged in the restaurant. I grabbed my parcel and stood up with a no-problem look. I brushed it off as a simple slip though a slight pain was building up in my wrist as I held it for supporting my fall.

The pain became unbearable as I found trouble in lifting my right hand and needed a visit to the doctor. I sported a small wrist band to the office and duly answered the sympathetic inquiries from my colleagues, though I added some humorous tang to my replies. Well, things turned out to be fine as I am back to writing with my reenergized right hand.

Religious Getaway !

2007-10-08T13:31:00.000+05:30

At least a quiet moment of each day is dedicated to bow down and be religious. Apparently, it doesn’t vary with religion, as the sole purpose seems to ease rattled minds, pouring in the magical power of calmness. To strengthen this, we decided to stay aloof for a weekend from the hustled daily lives, by visiting a temple. Well, we include me, my roomie and a colleague of mine, who happens to be a good friend. The choice of destination was the famous Mookambika temple in Kollur, near Mangalore.

Things we planned in detail, to the contrary of several other last minute trips. On the planned date, office activities were pushed off in a jiffy and I waited to hop out. My colleague had a conference call and he managed to time it perfectly as to avoid delays in reaching the bus stand. My roomie had constantly reminded me about the roads being jam packed owing to Friday night. As decided, he was to join us at the bus stand as me and my colleague took an auto rickshaw, meddling through the narrow alleys keeping a close look at time. Though we reached well ahead of the bus departure, there was no sign of my roomie there. As usual, a surge of tension gripped me and I walked around annoyingly. My colleague found it quite amusing and he tried to pep me up. There were some alibis handy to hold up the bus for sometime in lieu of a worst case. He landed on time, ending the short drama and we happily started the journey.

In spite of the eventful start, we arrived at a good time on Saturday morning. We were greeted by showers as it was raining heavily out there. Being off season, there was hardly any crowd in the temple and we found real peace in doing the darshans. We even had a dip in the flowing river, and the feeling was inexplicable. The weekend was serene and we headed back with pious thoughts.

Birth of a blog !

2007-09-28T21:25:00.000+05:30

Often I wonder what propels me into writing blogs. Is it the sheer determination to pen down my thoughts which prove a source of happiness on completion of each of my blogs? Unclear on the cause of an origin, I keep my senses open for the slightest breeze of a wandering feeling adding fuel to stir up the next blog.

There are times when the sudden surge of creative emotion overpowers me. It instills in me a sense of hope, a dream to be fulfilled in a short span of time, as I embark on the journey to complete my blog. I succumb for these literary outbreaks, as it tardily pours down in several paragraphs before me. This can be anywhere – while I am at work, though my work comes to a momentary stop and I dedicate a quiet moment for it to sweep through me.

It has happened while I stay awake at nights staring at the ceiling and the street light, creeping its way through the windows making strange shadows on the facing wall. I ponder over these till sleep finally settles in. If I am adventurous enough it leads me to scribble down the thoughts instantly in a legible, decent manner, a foetal form of my blog. It would have avoided much effort if there is enough pain taken in typing these down in my laptop, which fails to serve its primary purpose of educating myself of technology fronts and being used merely as a document creator.

Many a times, words rumble in my mind as they wander aimlessly till they are nurtured with carefully crafted sentences, the carrier of my emotions as they transform into an adolescent stage of my blog. Occasionally even the books I have read upon these days acts as definitive help in providing me ample words carrying beauty and power. It’s a bliss when I reach the end of my blog and try to read through it – a sense of small pride and happiness though I am skeptical about how it appeals to my friends and others who read them!!!

Interviews - On and on !

2007-09-17T18:44:00.000+05:30

On every passing year, I claim more experience in my field of expertise – at least I am being convinced of my abilities and a reassurance to be elevated. Starting as a developer of software programs, I am now at the pedestal of leading few team members. As I stay optimistic, the bleak ray of hope penetrates my mind, reviving my spirits.

I wouldn’t want to persist in day dreams as the meeting invite for another interview pops up in my calendar – Another of those endless sweet torments from colleagues in the recruitment team. Like everyone else, on a quick reflex, the invites are closed and I ornate a serious mood. The interviews prove as an eye opener, a reflection of self at those times when I was shifting jobs, times of passion and adventure in seizing greater opportunities and decent pay packets. Soon I found myself in familiar grounds of technology, expecting answers from the candidate in front. It was a quick wind up and as I rushed to complete the regular formalities, a thought flashed in. Was I being unfair in judging the candidate? Could he be a merited one who carried the desire to be among the giants of retail industry?

These small humane questions peep in mystifying me and I am being won over by my consensus as the answers given by the candidate were of not adequate standards. I started developing a small aversion towards doing further of them. It has become monotonous as it incorporated similar set of questions. There have been days when I was the replacement for some other interviewers who occasionally bypassed them.

Well, it’s for a good ‘cause’ that keeps me going in the midst of all these!

An Alluring Smile!

2007-09-10T10:20:00.000+05:30

Her lips making way for a beautiful smile --- and how I wish it was at me!! I seem to envy people who smile creating an air of charm around them!

****** ************* ***********************

This could be another account of childish sentiments about falling for a smile. Hmmm... sounds strange as some of them happen to be colleagues!!! Let me make the point clear as it's only a feeling of admiration and not being flirtatious.

I was heading for breakfast in the cafeteria which helps me start my morning in office - a routine remaining constant for month’s altogether. Often I join my fellow colleagues for breakfast as we discuss some trivia. There have been times when I dream while having breakfast, pondering over emotions to write about.

I saw this girl sitting with a friend of hers, eating slowly with carefully monitored manners. Though I was sitting couple of tables away from her, I could see her enjoying the food, nodding as she was talking to her friend. I saw her smiling - a smile that swept a wave in my heart – a cute smile of innocence, of true happiness. I was lost in that and found myself smiling, though to no one in particular!

A Dial up Saga !

2007-09-04T23:36:00.000+05:30

I was hurriedly walking past the main road that leads to the telecom customer care center at my place. A walk impelled by an agenda as I carefully placed each steps! Phew, this might sound grave but on the contrary, this was an unornamented thought to ease of from a carked internet connection involving dial up. Willy-nilly, these dutiful responsibilities were taken up by me being on a vacation.

As I was walking towards with the aim in getting a broadband connection, I vividly recollected the pain in getting connected to cyberspace. As I was churning out all these, I barely recognized the familiar faces on opposite sides. In one word, the dial up way of getting connected proved futile as it really judged my patience. The intricacies of the telephone network spanning here attributed to be the root cause of all anomalies. I had to wait for hours altogether to get a connection, to see the familiar blogger window as to upload chunks of my harmless imaginations.

And there lies the known trouble of slow connectivity, making me doze off while waiting for the sites to show their beauty. Each passing minute, each progress in the taskbar gave hopes which are nipped by a premature termination owing to silly reasons. Those endeavors wore me out as nights passed with me stressed up to keep the ‘fire’ alive. Well, enough reasons to substantiate as I reached my destination.

Stunned on seeing the closed door, I slowly walked up to read the graffiti posted on the door. A small paper read out holiday in black bold letters. I stared again as my mind went blank and I retraced my steps with slowly building anger.

Vacation Diary !

2007-09-01T23:38:00.001+05:30

The time that has been spent ‘less engaged’ in office made me wise. Hmm… am I being philosophical? I guess the first thoughts of vision or wisdom that crossed my mind was about a vacation. In minutes, I gave a final shape to my leave plan and got the approval from my Managers.

As usual, the destination was home, sweet home in Kerala. Though I visit the same place once in a month to be with my parents, I reckoned that this was a special one – more time to be composed, contented and for a cool mind. I was certain about being away from musings of my professional life, even though I occasionally check my office mails. The majority of time was attributed for enjoying the serene symphony in the air around me.

The vacation days started on a quiet note with the mornings calm and no attempt whatsoever from my end to be an early bird. An absolute relief from the mind boggling effort of catching the morning cab! I did spent some time in doing chores for my mom recollecting my childhood days – a trip to the shop to grab some commodities or tag along with her as she carefully picked the best vegetables, some items from the bakery. The rest of the time was into reading more tintin and asterix and blogging! There were some trips to meet couple of relatives and I did enjoy those as it kept the bond alive with them.

But soon, the vacation would come to an end taking me back to office days where a prospective project awaits me!

Guided Tour !

2007-08-30T07:59:00.000+05:30

There would be at least a silly thing to laugh about in our everyday cab trip to office. It could be pulling somebody's legs or some funny thoughts. There has been a change in the transportation vendor and so it has led to all sorts of confusion in the morning. The cab driver had to figure out the pickups by giving numerous calls to the so called co-coordinator of transportation.

It arrived at my pickup point couple of minute late than usual which helped me as I was still grooming up for office. My colleague who sits in the front seat, by virtue of an early pickup point, takes up the task of intimating others about the cab arrival. She gives a missed call to the mobiles of other cab mates helping them to rush off and cut short their personal styling in front of the mirror.

After my point, she had the additional responsibility of directing the cab to the other pick up points. She happened to know the small pocket roads which take us avoiding the heavy traffic pile ups. As the places were well scattered around, we found us navigating through different areas of Bangalore city, seeing new places that we see during the weekends normally. We made our way through the main roads and finally reached office at a pretty good time.

Well, thanks to her, as it saved us from further delays though it was more like a 'guided tour of Bangalore city'

On Bench!

2007-08-20T19:31:00.000+05:30

This doesn’t have any relation to the good old school days where everyone is introduced to education, seated on a wooden bench along with fellow students who all crave for ‘learning’. This is a familiar term being used extensively in the professional world of Information Technology, especially in the companies that cater for IT. Though a formal word definition cannot be derived, it ideally points to the act of a person not formally engaged to any assignment – a state where the subject is less absorbed, a preferable expression than indicating an idle scenario.

This has been precisely my condition for the past one week. Fortunate enough, this is the first time in my career where I have been formally in this. I could recollect similar experiences of my friends who boasted about the times they have spent lazing away. It brings a ray of hope, a state of peace to the real busy schedules that one goes through while at work. I took it in a very ‘sportive’ way, browsing through various techno journals, reading news etc.

As time passed, I saw it cumbersome to engross in something useful. The readings, the tutorials have been found worthless when the urge to learn them was missing which is nothing but the project to which one is allocated to. Also, the experiments to learn new things proved irritating. I have resorted to leaving early from office end up reading something at home or watching a movie or even writing like these!

I do look forward for my earlier routine, which ultimately makes me happy!

Noisy Pantry – And I am Working!

2007-08-20T19:21:00.000+05:30

I was carefully pondering over the code for quite some time. As we have a release lined up the following week, everyone in my team is equally busy in fixing those last minute bugs and gearing up for the production release. I was expecting a breakthrough and a sudden roar of laughter toppled my train of thoughts. I couldn’t concentrate any more – and I am at loss of words to express the mounting anger.

I stood up and glanced at the noise prone area. As I guessed, it’s the pantry area in the ground floor, couple of aisles away from my cubicle. The place is meant for a quick coffee, off late, it has been more like a hangout place for discussions. The topics for these vary in proportions and accompanied by team members shouting and laughing, the decibel levels high above normal!!.

This is one scenario where no one is at fault. Irrespective of the teams they work for, almost everyone is equally good in this respect. I find quite helpless at these situations and continue my work with my headphones playing rock music keeping me away, though I feel pity for my fellow teammate who sits right opposite to this !

I think this can be considered bygone as there seems to be some construction work undertaken near the café area. It has been shifted to another location and I thank my stars!!!!

Chucked Out !

2007-07-04T11:27:00.000+05:30

Well, I thought of penning down the ordeal of availing cab service in my company. Though it provides a great help in ease of transportation for all, at times it drains out the patience of most of us. There has been couple of very funny incidents almost every week in this regard!

A Toyota quails is my dedicated pickup vehicle which picks me up in the early hours of the dawn – at around 8.30. This makes me get up early rather than dozing off till 11.00 which seems to be the pattern for weekends. But it has multitude of advantages as reaching early to office and a jump start to the tasks to be worked on. My cab covers some parts of Bangalore and by the time it reaches to pick me up, the backseats would be the only ones vacant. This has been my dedicated spot for the past many weeks, though out of sheer luck in anybody’s absence I get a promotion to one of the seats in the middle row or even to the front seat.

I really get weird thoughts as when the cab is full, it resembles the auto rickshaw which carries kids to school, a well known sight in most parts of India. Everyone is so tightly packed and the strange part would be when anyone’s mobile rings and an attempt to pick up the phone in the midst.

The best scenes are at the evenings when most of us would be searching for the cabs. As the respected transport co-coordinator has a brilliant idea in joining some routes for more efficiency in his terms. This leads to utter confusion with the cab drivers refusing to the zig-zag routes proposed by him. I was put into a condition like this when two of the cab drivers passing by my route had a very common opinion of not taking me to their cabs!! I was literally chucked out and stranded which led to some verbal exchange, and I finally ended up in one of those cabs and was dropped a bit far from my usual place.

Hopefully as time passes, these issues get sorted out and I have the doubts as why are these still prevailing!!

Spoony !

2007-06-26T17:40:00.000+05:30

Things have been pretty strange at lunch in the office !!! the lunch starts around 12.15 PM and by the time we go for the same, there would be a long winding line. Everyone would be enjoying in the queue, taking a break and chatting about the day. As the line slowly progresses, you realize that there are no spoons !!!!

Well, this has become a normal scene at lunch time - the first thing would be to complain to the caterers !!! It's surprising to see the blank expression at their faces - indicating that the spoons are being washed and it takes time for them to make their presence felt !!!!!

The big queue stalls at that point and everyone looks around for the arrival of this piece of steel with great expectations. Finally, a person emerges from the other side with couple of spoons and everyone huddles around him - a new saga of the survival of the fittest. Some are victors in this race and they go ahead triumphantly with the spoon to start lunch. Others wait for the next dispatch :))

There has been scenarios where people standing in the queue starts picking up spoons so as to stock themselves. Hmmm... strange enough that forced me to write about this.

I guess there should be a spoon as well in the welcome kit for the new joinees to alleviate this pesky little issue :)))

In da Pub !

2007-06-11T16:30:00.000+05:30

I have been in this land of pubs for almost 3 years by now. I have seen the glowing signs of pubs from time to time in all the main roads, but never had visited them. Well, there seems to be a multitude of reasons supporting me in this regard. Always thought peering into one of them to have a feel of it and at least get to know what it’s all about.

The week that passed by gave an opportunity in exploring on of those. This pub is not so far from my place and so it has this advantage. In any case, we wouldn’t have to fight with the auto drivers for a return trip if it gets too late!!.

Geared up, we all visited this place, me being the novice compared to my roommates who have already seen many of the good pubs around. So with a slight complex lingering in my mind, I entered the place. Hmm, the first view seems pretty alluring with the huge plasma screens and nice beats from the videos shown in them. We got a seat near to one of those screens. The ambience was good in the first place. There were people in all moods enjoying the rock music played.

Being a neo fan of rock music as compared to the soft pop music I slowly began enjoying the head banging and joined the others in the same. I should say I had a wonderful time being there and enjoying the great music.

Well, I started developing a liking towards visiting this place again!!!

MOM - 'Minutes' of Meeting !

2007-05-02T13:24:00.000+05:30

We all end up in doing lots of meetings a week. Couple of them could be technical, some sessions on emerging technologies and others could be team meetings - the ones in which all the team members meet up and discuss on things. Though I meet my team everyday and we all sit in adjacent cubicles, this tends to be a forum for more initiatives. Well, some of these meetings could be the typical time pass ones where in attending itself is a great sacrifice.

And as a part of the great quality protocol, it is intended to capture the minutes of meeting or MOM as it is affectionately called. We decided to incorporate this as well in our meetings. And being responsible, I quickly 'delegated' the task to another team member of mine and with some corporate jargons accompanying the decision. It went like this - 'This might give you more insight to the processes followed, gives more room for proactiveness' and other dialogues which I found suitable and was able to recollect at that time.

Well this team member was actively involved in scribbling down things during the course of the meeting. I was happy in seeing as this could be a good capture of events of the meeting. After the meeting I casually asked him – “So, did you capture the meeting minutes?”

His reply stunned me – “Yes, Arun, I did the same. It is 39 minutes.” I was dumbfounded and didn't know whether to laugh. I quietly moved to my cubicle with smiles in my mind !!

Shipping !

2007-04-20T10:41:00.000+05:30

Well, the name indicates some serious business related to the vessel in sea. Or there could be others having ideas about the software engineer slang of delivering the developed code onsite. Hmmm…strange and wild imaginations but the truth is way beyond this. May be a small part of the latter could be correct as this has a relation to onsite.

My roommate has been bitten by the onsite bug since January. There was an attempt to resign from his current organization and move for greener pastures. The company, like every other gave him multitude of counter offers including an assured onsite trip. A nice diplomatic move and he shouldn’t be blamed of. I guess I would have done the same in that state of mind. Seems like the organization recognized his out of the box talents now and was quite ‘impressed’ by him. This was the version we could hear of and didn’t dare asking him the facts behind it though.

Now comes the famous twist in the story. Though initially planned for Europe, it was later deviated to be the Americas. He has been giving us hopes about leaving pretty soon . And as loyal and trustworthy friends, we kept pulling his legs every other day asking about the dates and all possible trivia’s for irritating him. Some of them even went to the extent of giving lists of items to be shopped from there. I guess I should add about the fact that he gave a treat to couple of us for the onsite chance.

Days and months passed and finally by mid April, there was a ray of hope. All of a sudden, last week, things got sorted out and he was all set to go. Quite surprising that we all went home as it was a festival back home in our native states. Yesterday was the big day for his shipment . It was a real chaotic environment when I reached home back from office. He was in a muddle of packing things, reiterating himself about the items to be carried. There were his colleagues and all of us helping him out in sorting things and to keep his calm. I do remember some funny moments here and there regarding his questions .

And finally, he took the taxi and I could hear him shouting out – please get the laptop!!!!!!! We all burst out laughing with a hope that he took the tickets and passport !

Appraisal Time !

2007-04-17T15:12:00.000+05:30

Have been in a mental trauma for many passing hours - I pondered over a potential reason for the same ! Everyone in the office is running around with mixed emotions adoring their faces :) It's the appraisal delivery time and all seems to be concerned with it. The case is ditto with me and I don't have any carefully crafted words to describe the situation!

I could see Managers hurrying up in delivering the results to their team. Each conference room is filled with an air of seriousness. The team would be waiting outside for their colleague to finish his and come out. The employee emerges from the room, without the slightest of facial expression which makes the team confused about the ratings and hikes. Or it could be a small gesture as in being indicative of his state.

Whatever the case, it takes sometime for the mood to swing back ! I guess this is the rationale behind planning it for a friday as it takes the weekends to be in a peaceful state ! Well, it happened to be decent for me that makes it possible in writing this ....hoping to do some more better work !!!!!!!

Winter in Minneapolis!

2007-03-20T15:30:00.000+05:30

Happened to get a chance to work with my onsite team for a month - The trip this time was to Minneapolis! - That too in winter :) I never had the remotest idea of the situation I was landing to. I have heard that winter in some areas were pretty wonderful with heavy snow making it practically impossible for commuting... Anyways I was excited again as it was a change from the normal work style here...

The taxi drive from the airport to the hotel was a different experience. The roadsides were all covered with snow, trees without any leaves just bare with the branches awaiting spring and no one outside their homes. It truly reflected the depression, the sober feeling of winter. The moment I got out of my taxi to the hotel, I was getting the feel of winter. I recollect I stepped out of the cab and I was feeling the rush of cold wind all over. It was very cold. I just dragged my luggage and reached the hotel very fast and had a coffee to revive myself

I could see snow falling in one of the weekdays. I was gazing the white beautiful snow through the glass windows of 10th floor where my cubicle is. It was flying all over, with a motive to make everything cold in its way.

I visited a waterfall, the Minnehaha falls in that weather. That proved to be the ultimate experience though there was no daring feat involved. I went there with a colleague of mine on one of those cold weekends. We parked the car and moved towards the falls. I was dumbfounded by the very sight of the falls. It was a complete frozen falls with no water and only ice in its beautifully sculpted shape.

It was difficult to explain the feeling. I wanted to have a snap taken but was difficult to open my eyes due to cold. Somehow I managed to strike a glamorous pose while my friend took the snap. Couldn’t keep my hand back into the gloves as it was terribly numb. We rushed off to our car and I could hardly feel my nose and face.

In all, the winter in Minneapolis was a memorable one. I could vividly recall the commute to office through the skyways with meeting numerous people. They were very presentable with smiling face and kept me smiling at them.

Being Jai !

2007-01-12T15:39:00.000+05:30

Do you know who is jai ? my roomie announced on reaching from office.... All of us were startled on hearing this!!! Who's this now ? None of us were inclined much to remember any recent incidents happening around or rather current affairs. Forget the point when it comes to recollecting somebody of past..... all started pitching in points - the actor in some soap, or is it the new chief minister of some state.....

Good that we didn't have to ponder much. He himself has put it across beautifully. Its Big B Amitabh in Sholay :)) and the best part was that he was selected to play jai's part in a sholay skit in his office. God, we were dumbfounded !!! how could that happen :)) surely there could be the lack of enough volunteers or a random selection !!! Imagine his situation when we all started pulling his legs ..... and that too nonstop .....His face slowly turned from bright happiness to a pale white one......

We were not aware of him possessing any acting skills whatsoever which made us laugh our hearts out.... And neither did he express any hidden talents till that day we knew him....

Slowly we forgot the incident and days passed.....one fine evening he came up with the same news with a Sholay like ending though..He was later removed from the star cast .....we didn't have any comments and I could see my roomies slowly leaving the room to have a hidden laugh :)))

zzz!

2006-12-28T10:35:00.000+05:30

Not been getting enough sleep these days! Dunno whether it has some invisible relationship to the times we choose to sleep. If that’s the case, then I should put this as the reason, as I sleep at different times each day, not adhering to a scheduled timeslot. I do go for sleep a bit early, just after dinner and sometimes just after a busy day at work

There are some days where sleep just evades me for a long time. And, I wouldn’t be able to recollect precisely, when I got the boon of having been in deep sleep. The truth is I used to get a lot irritated till I get sleep. Hmm...imagine, when in the bed, trying to get a wink of nice night’s slumber. I get so restless with my mind wandering to distant territories. These are so unrelated, irrelevant that just keeps my mind occupied.

I tried my best to free myself from these penuries but in vain. They continue to haunt me and devoid me of good sleep. Well, this blog being one of such incidents where I lost the war and kept staring at the ceiling. I tried to be in bed much earlier than the usual so as to get more hours. After struggling hard, I give up. I move here and there in bed, so as to have a satisfying nap.

I decided I should pen this down rather than leaving it away to torment me again. The next day’s mood is completely dependent on this. My eyes would look completely weary making me to face my colleagues stare as if I were having a party last night!!

The Volvo Experience – Again!

2006-10-23T23:04:00.000+05:30

Its time to take a break, after a few weeks of strenuous work at office. To be honest, I am not talking about taking a trip to Bahamas or any other beautiful place for a vacation. I have to think of more viable options as of now J . The easiest get away in the current situation is home, sweet home. And it’s a long weekend on account of Diwali, Ed etc.

Getting a ticket is the most challenging task while planning a vacation. Almost all the fellow people go to their hometown even at normal weekends, so consider grabbing a ticket at the last minute! This cumbersome task of procuring ticket at the right time has been granted to me by my roommate who happens to be going to the same city as mine. Well, another trait of mine has earned this decree as I do a bit of early planning.

So, this time also, I started calling up the travel agencies much in advance to get that precious piece of paper which gives the opportunity to get a seat in one of the numerous advanced luxurious buses as they claim to be. Here, I saw the power vested onto them J. The travel agents were more like the bus owners themselves, rejecting all the requests to have a seat at their buses telling the irritating reason that charts have not been ready. If there is a delay the reason would be no seats available!

Finally we got seats in a Volvo. Hoping for a luxurious travel and to reach the destination much earlier, we boarded the bus at the right time. Ignoring a bitter experience last time with the same travel company, we involved in the usual chat and time pass till sleep whisks by. We had the first shock by realizing that the AC is not working. It was just hot air coming out of the ac vents. The helpers in the bus tried in vain to do the so called repair work to give the passengers a reason. And everyone was looking irritated. The funny part was that they distributed blankets which looked like they were doing some kind of routine job as they have to do those irrespective of the prevailing situations.

Finally, they gave up and we had no choice other than to crib about the bus and making remarks. It was pretty hot in the bus and sleeping was out of question. As it was completely covered, there was very little air circulation. Also, there was a stench of sweat which prevented me from getting a slight nap at least. Time passed by and sometime past two in the morning, the bus had some technical problem as it was defined in the driver’s slang. So we found ourselves on the sides of the road having fresh air. The small talks with the fellow passengers revealed that they had similar experiences with the same bus in their past trips. Well, this gave me a slight relief in realizing that I was not the only one affected!

The best part was yet to happen. They saw another bus of the same company coming towards us and everyone was asked to get down from the bus and board the new bus. I recollected the same incident when I took the same bus for my previous trip, a month ago. Surprising enough, the other bus had ac on and was better.

Looks like the attempt to have more comforts are making the travel miserable as we reached our destinations pretty late. This made me decide to try for other buses and take this only as some last option!!!!

mobile menace !

2006-07-12T16:52:00.000+05:30

Sunday - a lazy, quiet day for doing all irrelevant things !!! Anything from irritating others to sleep till evening. True to the point, I was sleeping in the coziness of my blanket, without any mood to get up early. Needless to say, some of us sleep with extreme forethoughts. Not even a single ray of light should be given chance to wake us up.

Somehow the sleep was progressing in the midst of many disturbing sounds from the neighborhood. This has become a terrible menace these days. The sound of washing clothes, people shouting for no reason in my view and so on.I might have slept for more time and my mobile phone rang. I didn't hear it well as it was in another room. Above the electronic noise was my roommate yelling on top of his voice to take the phone.

I was shaken from bed mercilessly !!! I was hoping he would take the phone and give it to me. Well, think of the consequences if I ever have said that !!!! . I ran to get the phone. After opening the flap to know who's online, I was taken to utter dismay. It was the usual service provider's recorded message about some crap offer of theirs.Totally irritated, I couldn't do anything but keep the phone angrily after disconnecting.

This has been on the rise.There would be some SMS messages about offers sometime and calls like these. The idea might be marketing but it really is a pain !!!!!!

keep walking !

2006-07-05T14:10:00.000+05:30

Do we walk?? What a question!! We walk long distances everyday. Inside the office - to the cafeteria, to the restroom. Well that’s almost it. It’s sad to say that the many in the breed of software engineers including me do lack exercise.

I have a small claim to make. I do a bit of walking compared to many of my friends. That may not add to my health though. At least I’m putting in some effort. There was a comment in some article about cultivating the habit of walking. If it has to be considered as a way of exercise, then it has to be done with some speed. This is not the casual walk.

Being inspired by this, I made some great resolutions to walk everyday in the morning by getting up early. But, could not adhere to that policy as I felt sleeping for more time in the morning gives more satisfactionJ. I make it a point to get down from the bus not at the exact bus stop of mine. Somewhere, a bit far, at least a kilometer away, I get down. From there, I think about something and walk towards home. Should say that I get ideas for most of the blogs from that inspiring walk!

We make fun of a friend of mine in this regard. His house being near the main road, it’s pretty easy to get a rickshaw. So his impeccable style is to just shout for an auto and then get into it!!!

football frenzy !

2006-07-03T14:26:00.000+05:30

The FIFA world cup is progressing on to its final stage and becoming more and more exciting as days pass by. Now semi finals are the next excitement. Four teams are in the arena. This has been considered as the well organized match of all times. The Germans get all the kudos for making this a big event.

I’m disappointed to see my favorite teams go out. Well, the same feeling could be shared by millions of their fans. I used to see almost all the games. Though some of the matches were late in the night, I still managed to see them. And going to the office next day was painfulJ. I was found with sleepy eyes in the office!

There were quite a few football freaks in the office. So the main agenda for the morning coffee would be discussions about the previous day matches, the predictions, match analysis like true experts in the game! Turning back to my childhood, I never played football that seriously. This makes you people think, I may be into other sports. Seeing my physique, nobody would ever believe that I play any game.

I could recollect few incidents of playing football. It was in high school and some of us were included in the team just to make the numbers right! And the only role for me was to kick the ball towards the opposition when it came near me. I was never involved in brilliant dribbling of the ball or tackling and then taking it to score a goal. But I scored a goal once and that was a kind of memorable one.

Now, seeing some matches on TV gives me goosebumps. The way they play and the spirit associated with the game. Though some of my roommates give a slight threat by changing the channels, I could still get to see the games……Whatever it is, this happens to be one great sporting event!!!!

cooking - wah !

2006-06-11T20:30:00.000+05:30

How nice it would be to cook food! I imagined that many times. To have that wondrous skill that others have a word of praise once they have a nice lunch from home. I used to cook a bit – not tea, coffee alone. It would be wrong on my part in boasting. To be honest enough, the food items were edible. Though didn’t have high acclaims, it was still not cursed by others. And the best part was no harm done!!

I think I should stop my claims about my culinary skills. This weekend proved to be an eye opener :) We decided to cook at home rather than going out for lunch. Though the decision was to avoid being bored at home, it was a wonderful expose of cooking by a room mate of mine. This was all for Saturday lunch.

We got all the necessary stuff required for the grand event. And my role was to cut the various vegetables needed for the show. As I am a vegetarian, I will not be involved in preparing non-veg at any stage. Slowly he started cooking and as time passed, things were ready.

Another roommate found his place in the hall as usual, glued to the TV, flipping channels with his favorite gadget, nothing other than the remote. He started ordering and complaining about the time being taken for the preparation as though he were a chef in his yester years !!! . Things were funnier when the chef gave an apt reply for the same!!

Soon, it was time for eating. And true to what I said, the food was really great and had a great deal of it – And had a nice sleep after the meal.

This gave us a wonderful idea – Why don’t we have this for all weekends? We will just get up at our leisure and by that time, the food will be served hot :)

Hmm..i will get enough for all these, for sure!!!!

i need to read !

2006-06-11T15:26:00.000+05:30

What should I read? A question to myself on my way back home after the usual office hours. A difficult one to find the answer to. Look around and one can find an array of books on all sort of topics – Fiction, Non Fiction, Philosophy, and the list goes on.

With this small thought, I quickly tried to recollect my reading habits. The kind of books I used to read, so it makes things easy...Just pick one of that kind and kindle the habit. The memories went back to my school days where I was an avid reader of comics. Then language was never a barrier to me. To say the truth, this only means I was interested in reading books in my mother tongue also.

I was a serious fan of Tintin, Asterix comics as well. I used to read them and never got up till I finished that. Now also, whenever I get a chance I grab a copy of them and read. I’m a bit sad in the fact that I never matured from comics to novels or any other books till the recent times. Somehow, I never got the interest to read any other genre of books in English.

But I continued my reading in Malayalam, thanks to my Mother, herself being a voracious reader. I get envious when my friends discuss the novels that they have read; commenting on the various aspects in the same. Hmm…I should start reading something.

Happened to read a non fiction last month – A book about the land of myths and beauty, our India. A book written about almost everything in India by an Australian lady who stayed here for a long time. Though initially it kind of irritated me as she portrays everything in the true sense, I kind of developed a respect towards the author.

The book is a real good example of state of things in our country. Though its not a spiritual or religious oriented book, it instills the purity of thought in an individual.

I’m pretty happy that I’m back to my reading habits in English, by virtue of this book. Now I stop by some bookshops when I’m free to see the latest releases. Just read the preface and may be buy a few to read!!!!

bluetooth !

2006-06-09T11:19:00.000+05:30

its technology that rules the world now ! Everywhere u go , new gadgets are on the rise . New computers, laptops, appliances, phew ! you are lost in the digital revolution. Same is the case in the mobile phone scenario.

go out to the street, and u see people with a variety of mobiles. The most funny thing i have seen is some kind of handsfree devices that people use. Well, many of my fellow roommates had this idea to buy a new mobile phone. One guy had put the initial idea of this and two others backed him. Like a political plot, the first one backed off and it was again two people actively involved in the buying game !!

Now, which one to buy ? A question that made them sleepless for a few weeks. New models with lot of features- with mp3 player, with advanced imaging cameras, varied styles, designs.They have started the search. For a perfect model that fits the pocket and fills ur mind. Most of the time was utilized in extensive researches about the model :) The others including me were looking at them in utmost respect.

Finally they got one;the dream model that they finalized upon.Boy, it's a damn cool one with lots of facilities. And the most important of that is it has bluetooth. Our miseries started with that. We even cursed the guy that invented this feature :))

After office hours they started discussing about their new mobiles. It was funny for us to see that initially. What the other guy did with this mobile, what's the new ringtone, the new applications available and so on. And they started transferring data through bluetooth. So all the discussions were concentrated on that. How to use that effectively and etc etc. The others were looking like a set of underprivileged people !!!

Anyways, I'm sure this initial excitement will die down as they get used to the device more and more. Till then we'll be more and more amused !!!!!! And i'm quite sure i get a reply for this from them for daring this :)

fun at niagara !

2006-06-01T16:32:00.000+05:30

Got a chance to visit niagara. And as usual during a weekend, we rented out a car and reached niagara by the next day morning. Its amazing !! The beautiful water flowing and dropping from such a height.

We took the boat and saw it from very near. I remember another funny incident that happened during our trip. Niagara is famous as a wedding spot also. There were many couple coming over to get married near the falls. I guess there is some myth associated with that !

We were in a traffic signal inside our car and saw a newly wed couple on the road. The girl was stunningly beautiful, clad in her white wedding robe. And the guy was equally handsome; together they made a wonderful pair , no doubt. We couldn't help ourselves looking at them. I think one of the guys in our group had stared at them a little longer time , not me.....

Suddenly it so happened that the husband of the girl was staring at us in a bit of anger !! He definitely had a look that made us cold. We wished the signal was green !!! And in a strong voice he said showing the girl - 'She's my girl' Oh .. we were feeling dead. We couldn't smile but we managed to say - good luck !!!!!

first onsite !

2006-06-01T12:23:00.000+05:30

Each day passes by letting in new thoughts and emotions to life. The receptionist greeting with a smiling face on reaching the office, the vending machines for coffee and chocolate, everything seems to be different from the day to day office work that you see in India.

The training sessions are a bit boring with the usual sleep peeping in like an uninvited guest. Still I try my level best to grasp things since we have to do things back at offshore. The apartment is pretty near the office, hardly ten minuteswalk. So in the afternoon, we come home, have food and go back.

Since we don’t have a car yet, the issue of travel pops in when the stock of grocery gets over. Either we have to depend on others or take a cab, of which the second option is pretty acceptable.

Dunno why, I’ve been getting thoughts of near and dear ones, though cannot be termed as homesickness. When you are far away, memories linger in mind at times. Then I scribble down the thoughts like this......

We had a few trips to some places nearby which were truly beautiful. Seeing new places, meeting new faces, all seems to be wonderful.Still around three more months to go and I am excited about the new trips and also about the challenge of work that’s waiting!!!!

holland !

2006-05-30T10:49:00.000+05:30

I have visited a few places in the onsite trip from my previous company.I should say that was one of the hidden agendas in my onsite trip !! The first one was to a place called Holland - a place some 3 hrs drive from where we stayed.

As the name suggests, it’s a place which has Dutch shops and all. Saw a tulip garden which was filled with beautiful tulip flowers. They were good, though they were the remains of the tulip festival that was over. Had to pay an entry fee of about 5 $ to see them!! Since it was the first trip for most of us, we could find ourselves engaged in converting that amount into indian rupees !!

Took a couple of photos in the midst of those flowers. Everyone in our group had this wonderful idea of taking their photos in singles. They were posing like their favourite heroes in the garden...As i didn't have any such dreams, i was basically roaming around irritating them with some comments.

There was nothing more to see there so moved to the next destination - the Ottawa beach, which has been bestowed with the beauty of Lake Michigan. The sight itself gave so many feelings. Such a big lake and its vast like an ocean without any waves. I never thought a lake could be so huge. Here it is, spanning endlessly, touching the horizon at the other end !! The water was so cold and couldn’t step or rather swim.

There were a lot of tourists, all interested in taking a sun bath, which caught our eyes more than the beauty of the lake!! People were involved in a lot of activities like football and all. I also played something with my colleagues. Here also, taking snaps was the main agenda. Caught some good pictures of the lake which can remain in memories for a long time.

Run run run

2006-05-29T13:58:00.000+05:30

it was not a jog. And it had nothing to do with adding to my physical fitness. It was a run to catch a bus !! Everyone at some point in his life might have done this deed , either during studies to reach in time, to reach office in time etc.

Well, this happened two days back when i had to visit my hometown. My roommates used to pull my legs often saying that i plan things much in advance, reach some place much ahead of time and so on. So, to shut their mouth to some extent, i had this idea of reaching the bus station on time.

The bus was scheduled to be at 10.00 PM.It normally takes around 30 mins from my place to the bus stand. By virtue of my nature, i would have normally left around 8.30 itself. But this time due to the great reasons mentioned above, i left late. At 9.00 PM, i was at the bus stop.

And i decided i wouldn't take an auto due to two reasons - avoid unhealthy verbal arguments with the driver and it may fail my purpose as i may reach early. So, with all these calculations, i waited for a bus and it started raining heavily. There are buses every 5 minutes but that day i had to wait till 9.15 to get one and hopefully it was not that crowded and i managed to get a seat.

With a bit of happiness lingering in my mind, i was slowly going towards my destination. Then, about a little more than a kilometer away from the bus stand, to my surprise, i could see an array of vehicles being stationary. Vehicles were moving at snail's pace.There was an air of honks and people shouting..It was a scene of complete chaos. I was dumbfounded -- Though it should not be a deal of great tension as traffic jams happen every now and then.

To add on to the exisiting misery, my bus had a techical fault. I realized that its high time i take an alternate option. I aligted from the bus and then started my heroic run !!!

I began my laps - running between autorickshaws, two wheelers and between parked buses i somehow realized that i could make in time for the bus. And i don't remember who all shouted at me seeing me running. The muddy pools seemed nothing. I hardly had any time to admire the beauty of others passing by, in the drizzle.

Finally i reached the bus stand i was sweating all over in that cold evening. I developed spasms in my muscles but satisfied with the achievement --- i could get the bus :))

From now on, i feel i should plan my activities in my way and i don't wanna run again !!!

The Glimpses of a friendship

2006-05-16T11:03:00.000+05:30

This represents the various faces of a friendship that i cherish with a cool friend of mine with whom i can express my feelings and who is kind enough to listen to my creative dreams !!!! And since the friendship is more than a year old, it wud be nice in penning down the various things that happened.I have tried my best not to twist anything and what i have written is sincere and is an image of the friendship through my eyes.

the beginning

" Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

It commenced on a saturday afternoon. I went to the office after visiting a friend of mine.Then I saw this girl, my project mate sitting in her cubicle, scanning through something. Thought of saying a hi and went towards her.

I told hi and with a smiling face she responded back.I should say, that was one of the beautiful smiles i have ever seen. My only idea was to have a casual enquiry and leave.Even she expressed the interest and slowly we started speaking and it began with the casual enquiry regarding work, about the location, about the project and so on. Soon, we found ourselves revealing the personal hobbies and interests.

With utmost interest, she showed some snaps of her sister and her friends. It was time for me to leave and with a bye we parted for that day....

I felt, that was the beginning of a friendship. But i didnt speak much with her in the office during those days. As there was work always and we were handling different modules in the project, there were less chances to interact.Some of us, including her got into an idle state, or freepool, the more technical name for the same. Those were the days where we had enough time to talk about many things that added dimensions to the friendship. Also, we used to go together in bus after office. And i think i taught her to do the adventurous feat of travelling in a BMTC bus !!

Time came, when i got released into another project and had to change my cubicle and moved to ground floor. She used to come to my cubicle and again, went together. It's nice to think about those days now. I felt happy when she would come over and there would be some discussions on the way back home and some funny incidents.

a small issue

For a few days, work was hectic for her and couldn't respond to me much. In my stupidest of all thoughts, i came up with the idea of sending a mail to her asking the reason and i guess that had a tone of a slight concern and complaint. I called her up that night and she was really upset about what i had done.

I realized the mistake -- Without knowing the reason,i was making somebody in an uncomfortable position. Eventhough the matter was small, i was skeptical and a bit afraid in the state of the friendship. I sincerely didnt want to loose the friendship which made me write that mail.And now also sometimes i make some unknowing mistakes like that but not that pronounced like the former.And after that incident, we didn't go together much in the bus like we used to do.

Missing her - and the present

And as days passed by, things got sorted out and we were again speaking in the normal ways. I got a surprise from the resource allocation which was the deputation to chennai. When i said that to her, she was initially laughing and i even i did the same.

I used to send her mails from there and also intranet messaging. So i was missing her badly during those days like i do now....

I'm now at onsite pretty faar away. Still we try to keep the friendship alive through mails and phone calls. I am waiting to get back and see her and have some fun like those initial days !!!!! And most importantly, need to go out for a lunch

Dreams -----

It feels so wonderful after speaking to her or after reading the lovely mails that she sends.Couple of times we went out for lunch and it still lingers in my mind. Those were all occassions where we could speak freely and have nice time together. And i do have a small selfish thought here - i wish that she sends me mails everyday !!!

I should say that i miss her a lot and i feel she too does miss me sometimes. If she doesn't, i wish she would.....

I would love to have this strong bond of friendship within us for many years to come...................................